BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his government coalition partners presented a comprehensive reform package Thursday with the goal of getting the country’s sluggish economy back on track.
The 34 reform measures include an income tax reform with tax cuts for low- and middle income families, an overhaul of the creaking pension system, tougher rules for employees’ sick leave and a reduction of the country’s stifling bureaucracy.
“These reforms all have one goal: We’re setting out into the future,” Merz said Thursday. “We’re strengthening ourselves so that we can live well in these new times.”
Merz’s coalition of center-right and center-left parties took office just over a year ago with pledges to reform and turn around Germany’s sluggish economy, Europe’s biggest. It has since become deeply unpopular, in part because of perceptions that it has squabbled but so far achieved little.
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Merz is trying to cut his government coalition free from that negative reputation.
“From the very beginning, we set an agenda with a single goal in mind: We want to get Germany back on track. It is now clear that this is possible,” the conservative chancellor said.
Germany’s economy returned to modest growth last year after shrinking for two years in a row. The government expects underwhelming growth of 0.5% this year, a figure that has been pushed down by the fallout from the war in Iran.
The country of 83.5 million people already faced increasing competition from Chinese companies, higher energy costs following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and issues including U.S. President Donald Trump ’s tariffs and trade threats. On top of that, it has deeper problems such as high production costs, lagging private investment and increasingly costly health and pension systems caused by an aging population.
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On Thursday, the government coalition leaders said that the tax cuts, once fully implemented in 2028, would give an annual tax break for a family with two working parents, two children and a total taxable income of 60,000 euros ($64,416) of up to more than 600 euros. The total tax relief provided by the reform amounts to approximately 10 billion euros per year.
The pension system reform would include raising the retirement age gradually in line with life expectancy. The coalition leaders said they would implement the recommendations presented by a government-mandated panel of experts and politicians last month to stabilize the pension system. The aim is to prevent the level of pensions from falling and ward off the need for a big, long-term increase of the levy employees pay into the pension system.
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The tougher rules for sick leave would no longer allow employees to call in sick to work for up to three days without seeing a doctor or call up the doctor and ask for a sick leave letter of one week without actually seeing the doctor. Instead, employers would be able to ask for a doctor’s certificate from the first day a person is on sick leave.
Merz had repeatedly complained that the rate of sick leave is too high in Germany and harming the country’s productivity.
When it comes to Germany’s runaway bureaucracy, various reporting and documentation requirements are to be eliminated, and data protection is to be reduced to the European minimum, the government said, adding that there would also be less red tape when it comes to filing tax returns.
Merz appealed to all Germans to support the reform package.
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“We know that you, ladies and gentlemen — the citizens of our country — want decisions, and you don’t want conflict. And that is exactly what we have delivered,” he said at the chancellery’s garden in Berlin as the reforms were presented to the public.
“Join us; support us in carrying out the reforms that are now necessary.”
Alonso held discreet meetings in London and his hometown of San Sebastian over three weeks in early May to ensure Chelsea was the right fit.
Despite questions as to why he chose the Blues over his former club Liverpool, there was no offer on the table from the latter.
“I had a view of Chelsea from the outside,” he explained, revealing how carefully he considered the move to Stamford Bridge and the early discussions with sporting directors about his vision for the club.
“I could see the positives and my concerns, so I addressed them. We had the same ideas, the same analysis, to start building momentum together. That is why we are taking these steps together and making decisions to build a good team.”
Alonso has also added full-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta, who could prove key to implementing the system he used at Bayer Leverkusen, while talks remain open over left-sided option Pep Chavarria of Rayo Vallecano.
“We have taken a few steps but I feel that we can still take a few more,” Alonso said when asked about the backing he has received.
Alonso has been careful not to overplay his hand when speaking to the media, but he always gives the impression he is heavily involved.
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His role as the first manager, rather than head coach, under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital has perhaps been overstated. The club’s five sporting directors remain responsible for much of the operation, albeit in constant dialogue with Alonso and his staff.
As ever at this time of year, Chelsea are open for business.
There is genuine excitement around the arrival of striker Danny Welbeck, 35, who will now join the squad for pre-season.
His role will be to provide experienced cover for Joao Pedro while also bringing a positive influence behind the scenes.
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Midfielder Jordan Henderson, 36, is also set to arrive after Chelsea were unable to secure Alonso’s former Bayer Leverkusen captain Granit Xhaka from Sunderland.
As he did under England manager Thomas Tuchel at this summer’s World Cup, Henderson is expected to help drive standards as a vocal leader, something Chelsea have lacked.
It would be similar to the role Alonso played under Pep Guardiola towards the end of his career at Bayern Munich.
It is a senior revolution at the Premier League’s youngest team.
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Chelsea have previously suffered from indiscipline, a perceived softness defending set-pieces and, perhaps most importantly, a lack of leadership and dressing-room culture.
“You need the right balance of personalities and stages of maturity, with players in their early 20s, early 30s and everything in between,” Alonso said of reshaping of his squad.
Culture is another area Alonso knows he needs to address. “In the Basque Country, we have a strong sense of collective purpose and culture,” he said.
Alonso believes that culture must extend beyond the playing squad. He recently provided the assists for the winning side in a staff game before Chelsea‘s overseas trip.
In a statement to Belfast Live, Translink said that they continue to monitor demand across the network
Families have reported being left struggling to get into Belfast City Centre to enjoy the first day of the Fleadh festivities, with trains and buses operating at full capacity.
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One commuter who contacted Belfast Live said that multiple families were left standing on platforms at several train stations because the trains were “packed to the doors”.
In the run-up to the Fleadh, Translink encouraged people to take public transport and to plan ahead for their journey.
“Translink appear to be only scheduling an hourly three-carriage service like any other Sunday on the first day of the Fleadh.
“There have been multiple families left on platforms at Finaghy, Balmoral etc.
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“The trains are packed to the doors. There is zero planning visible and zero customer service.”
A Translink spokesperson said: “We are operating enhanced capacity and frequency across bus and train services to accommodate both Fleadh visitors and regular passengers.
“We continue to monitor demand across the public transport network, responding appropriately using all available resources.
“Our passengers should leave extra time for their journeys and expect services to be busy during the week ahead.
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“Keep up to date with the latest public transport updates via the Translink Journey Planner App and socials.”
Greek police have charged a man in connection with the murder of a British woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens.
Elisabeth Jane Ross, 38 who was also known as Lisa, was discovered inside a suitcase by a homeless man in an abandoned carpark in the Kypseli district of Athens on 18 July.
The man arrested is reported to be a 26-year-old Afghan national who confessed to the killing. He is believed to have met Ms Ross through her work helping refugees and homeless people.
He was detained at an address in central Athens with police revealing that he had withdrawn money using Ms Ross’s bank cards after the killing, which helped them to track his movements.
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Her body was discovered on 18 July, three days after telling Greek friends she was staying with outside Athens that she was going to Kypseli to visit American friends.
Police said in a statement that the man had been charged with murder, robbery and weapons offences.
The statement added: ‘A 26-year-old foreign national has been identified in connection with the case; a criminal file has been opened against him for intentional homicide, robbery, and violations of weapons legislation.’
Police revealed that fingerprint evidence was discovered on the suitcase while CCTV showed the man carrying it to the abandoned car park.
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The statement continued: ‘He was brought to the Division’s headquarters on Thursday, July 30, 2026, and confessed to his actions.
‘It was established that the 26-year-old placed the body in a suitcase and transported it to the abandoned site. Furthermore, in the days that followed, he used the victim’s bank cards to withdraw cash.
‘During searches conducted at his residence, a replica pistol and a knife were found and seized; consequently, he was arrested for violating the law on weapons.’
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Police are investigating the death of Elizabeth-Jane Ross, 38, after her body was found inside a suitcase in Athens, Greece on July 18
The derelict space where the suitcase containing Ms Ross’s body was found (pictured)
Ms Ross, a committed Christian, had been regularly visiting Greece for the past seven years working with organisations helping refugees and other vulnerable groups.
She arrived in Athens on June 26 and was staying with Greek friends in the suburb of Keratsini, close to the country’s main seaport.
However, she then told them on July 15 she was leaving to stay with Americans she knew in Kypseli – a more central part of Athens and was discovered dead 72 hours later.
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It has emerged that Ms Ross had regularly volunteered with the One Heart organisation in Greece which specialises in providing medical support to refugees, particularly those from Afghanistan or Iran.
Following the discovery of her body, the police investigation focused on questioning those she may have met through this work, with officers claiming that her killer may have been someone she tried to help.
She was seen speaking with homeless people in Kypseli after arriving in the area.
It is understood the killer continued to send messages from Ms Ross’s phone and posted on her Facebook page after her death in an attempted cover up.
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One text from her mobile on July 15 to a Greek friend read: ‘I need some time – I’m going to a Greek island.’
Messages to her family claimed that she ‘needed some time to herself’ and that she ‘wanted to be alone for a while’.
It was then ‘mysteriously’ switched off as her death was reported across the globe.
Ms Ross’s father, a lawyer from Edinburgh, told officers he had been receiving messages from July 15 to July 29.
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Afghan national, 26, is arrested after body of British woman found in Athens suitcase
“I, for one, consider that the management of No. Fifty Cheyne are sensitive to the local residents and that high class clientele who frequent the establishment cause a public nuisance, are an incitement to crime, or any sort of disorder, or present any threat to public safety is utterly preposterous exaggeration of their civil and well-behaved conduct.”
Bolton Council has confirmed that everyone aged between five and 15 can take advantage of unlimited free travel on Bee Network bus services during the month, with no registration required.
In a post on social media, the council said families could enjoy more affordable days out by simply asking the driver for a free ticket when boarding a bus.
The offer forms part of the Government’s Great British Summer Savings campaign, which is providing free bus travel for children aged five to 15 on participating local bus services across England throughout August.
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Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has also announced a boost for 16-year-olds, who will be able to activate their Our Pass from August 1, a month earlier than usual.
The move means all young people under the age of 18 in Greater Manchester will be entitled to free bus travel during August.
Children under five already travel free on Bee Network buses all year round.
Fran Wilkinson, customer and growth director at TfGM, said: “We’re pleased to be taking part in the Great British Summer Savings scheme which will mean free bus travel on the Bee Network for everyone aged five to 15 in August.
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“This will help make days out more affordable for families this summer.
“To complement this national scheme, we are allowing Our Pass to be activated one month early which means no young person in Greater Manchester will miss out.
“The Bee Network is all about making it easier and more affordable to get around Greater Manchester and this national scheme will help us do just that.”
The Our Pass scheme, launched in 2019, is currently used by more than 50,000 young people across Greater Manchester.
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As well as free bus travel, members can access a range of discounts and offers, including half-price off-peak one-day and weekend tram tickets through the Bee Network app.
Anyone who was aged between 16 and 18 on August 31, 2026, and lives in Greater Manchester is eligible to apply for a digital Our Pass, subject to a one-off £10 administration fee.
TfGM said the free travel scheme could help families visit attractions and destinations across Greater Manchester during the summer holidays without worrying about transport costs.
Further information about Our Pass is available online, while people who need additional support can contact TfGM or visit a Bee Network travel and information office.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” made box office history in its first weekend in theaters. The Sony-released superhero movie became the second biggest North American opening ever with an astonishing $355 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was just a few million shy of “Avengers: Endgame,” which debuted to $357 million in 2019.
Tom Holland’s run as the comic book webslinger has been a mighty one. “No Way Home,” his third standalone Spider-Man movie, made over $1.9 billion worldwide to become the eighth highest earning movie of all time, not accounting for inflation. It was also the first movie since the beginning of pandemic to cross the $1 billion mark.
But the triumph of “Brand New Day” also comes on the heels of another major movie featuring Holland and Zendaya: Christopher Nolan’s“The Odyssey,” which slid to second place in its third weekend in theaters with $51 million.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” started strong, with a record $168 million opening day from 4,487 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, besting “Avenger: Endgame’s” $157 million Friday. The studio predicted it would lead to a $325 million opening weekend, which would still have beaten the second-place record. It takes the place of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” which opened to $260 million in December 2021. In the realm of best opening weekends in North America, they’re followed by “Avengers: Infinity War” ($257 million in 2018) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($247 million in 2015).
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Expectations were always high for “Brand New Day,” which was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and cost a reported $225 million to produce, not including marketing expenses. But there were worries it wouldn’t attract the same level of mass audience enthusiasm as its predecessor which integrated past Peter Parker actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield into the mix. In reality, interest was higher than ever. “Brand New Day” also received strong reviews from critics and audiences. It currently has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes; Audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore and a five-star rating on PostTrak.
Ticket buyers were predominately male (about 61%) and many were on the younger side, with slightly more than half the audience under the age of 25, according to PostTrak exit polls. The biggest group was between the ages of 18 and 24, which made up 36% of the audience; 27% were between the ages of 25 and 34.
Cries about the death of the superhero movie have been looming since “Endgame” with more than a few high-profile flops in the years since, including several from the once-impenetrable Marvel Studios. Still, when they work, they really work, most notably with “No Way Home” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which made over $1.3 billion.
This year has also seen a resurgence of moviegoing from younger audiences, who have made hits out of movies like “Obsession,” “Backrooms” and “The Drama,” which also starred Zendaya.
Haelwyn Adams, 41, was pregnant when she claims doctors dismissed her stomach pain as period pain and IBS for years before she was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer
Haelwyn Adams was looking forward to the future when she went into hospital for her 20-week pregnancy scan – but she was discomforted by stomach pain that had been “tormenting” her for years.
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The mum-to-be and partner Luke had endured a traumatic journey to becoming parents, complete with miscarriages.
They thought they had turned a corner when Haelwyn keeled over during her scan.
She wrote in the Times that her complaints about her pain were finally taken seriously after years of being ignored, when she was given the devastating diagnosis that she had stage four colon cancer with a rare mutation, which had already spread to her liver, reports the Mirror.
The doctors gave her a choice – terminate the pregnancy, allowing them to remove the tumour and start on chemotherapy straight away. Or continue with the pregnancy, with surgeons removing as much of the primary tumour as possible while protecting the foetus.
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Haelwyn described it as “the easiest decision ever”. She added: “I’m 41 years old and I’m dying. I don’t know how long I’ve got – a week, a month, a year. Nobody is talking about a decade.”
She experienced pain each time her unborn daughter kicked. Ultimately, the baby was delivered at 32 weeks as she could scarcely breathe with the liver tumours pressing against her lower lung.
Their daughter, Magnolia Sunshine, was born before being instantly separated from her mother.
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Haelwyn’s concerns about her stomach pain were ignored for years.
Doctors attributed her symptoms to severe period pain, IBS, stress, or, after she and now-husband Luke embarked on IVF, hormonal side-effects, as she appeared young, fit and healthy.
Following one of her miscarriages, Haelwyn pushed for a colonoscopy to investigate her pain. However, a doctor insisted she was “simply too young to have colon cancer” and instead opted for a sigmoidography examining only the lower bowel.
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Her fears were not taken seriously until the fateful day of her 20-week scan.
Magnolia was separated from her mother after being born so Haelwyn could begin treatment.
She said: “From that moment, my days telescoped into a binary routine, by night, journeying into the natal intensive care unit to sit with my daughter, by day, journeying to the edge of my will to live. I had been willing to die for her, but living for her now seemed almost too hard.”
The new mother was briefly cancer free in January this year and she hoped the super-aggressive chemo had worked. However, it returned with a vengeance in March, with tumours in both sides of her liver, and her treatment is now focused on management rather than cure.
She and Luke wed in June, in case she died during an operation to reverse the stoma from the colostomy she underwent during pregnancy.
She added: “It’s hard marrying someone to make them a widower but Luke is the love of my life, my person, my team-mate – and I know how strong he is.”
Haelwyn and Luke created a JustGiving page, aiming to raise £150,000 to “protect my husband and little girl from the financial burden this disease leaves behind”. To make a donation, visit here.
Claire Sweeney, who plays Cassie Plummer, will be leaving the show to take on the role of Miss Hannigan in the UK tour of the musical Annie.
The emotional scenes are set to air tomorrow (Monday, August 3) after Cassie feels she has no option other than to leave the Cobbles.
Claire recently revealed that she was “in total denial” about leaving the soap after “having such a wonderful time”.
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Why is Cassie Plummer leaving Coronation Street?
Cassie is set to leave the Cobbles following the arrival of Ross Wilkes, who she had an encounter with in the past.
Ross arrives trying to work his way back into his long-lost son Tyrone Dobb’s life.
After her bad experiences with Ross in the past, Cassie feels uncomfortable with his return.
An escalating feud pushes Cassie to take a job on a cruise ship, meaning she will leave Coronation Street.
In the emotional scene, she tells her grandchildren why she is moving away, with Fiz giving her some money and a photo of the family.
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Cassie tries to warn Fiz that Ross cannot be trusted, but Tyrone overhears and tells her to leave.
On her exit, Claire said: “It’s funny because my very last scene—the one where I’m driving away—was actually filmed two or three weeks before I finished.
“Because of that, it didn’t feel like a true ending.
“For me, the final scene in the Dobbs house felt like the real goodbye because that’s where I started with Alan, Jenny, and the kids.
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“I missed Maureen Lipman so much; I would have loved for her to have been there for that.
“Another moment that really stands out was the proposal scene with Simon Gregson.
“It was so brilliantly written—it managed to be funny, poignant, and everything in between.
“It really captured that full-circle moment, moving from when Cassie arrived as a ‘baddie’ to the redemption she eventually found.”
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Claire has already said she would love to return to Coronation Street, as her character’s story has left the door open for a possible return.
What do you think about Cassie Plummer’s exit? Let us know in the comments.
A man has been arrested following the death of a Scottish woman whose body was found inside a suitcase in Athens.
The 26-year-old man, who Greek police said was a foreigner, was arrested after the death of Elisabeth-Jane Ross.
The 38-year-old’s body was discovered inside a suitcase by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of Athens on July 18.
She is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, though someone was reportedly using her mobile phone to send messages purporting to be from Ms Ross.
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The Hellenic Police, Greece’s national force, were able to identify the victim using fingerprints.
Ms Ross, who is understood to be from Edinburgh, entered Greece on June 26 and was initially staying with friends in Piraeus.
Elisabeth-Jane Ross (Supplied)
She is then said to have gone to meet with American friends in another part of the Greek capital, but it is unclear if this ever happened.
The Hellenic Police said they analysed video footage to identify the suspect, who confessed on Thursday.
The 26-year-old man is believed to have put her body into a suitcase, taking it to the abandoned site where it was found.
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In the following days, he is said to have used her bank card to withdraw money.
A replica pistol and a knife were found at the suspect’s home and police have filed a case against him for manslaughter, robbery and violation of weapons laws.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said earlier: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time.
“We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”
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A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece.
“Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.”
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